Chapter 7- The Road Not Taken

Roads are fascinating as metaphors for life, change, journeys, partings, adventure, etc. or simply as roads. This is probably why they, and all their attendant images, have permeated art, literature and song. In the poem, Frost uses the fork in the road as a metaphor for the choices we make in life. Thus the roads are, in fact, two alternative ways of life. What other nouns could be used to represent life?

In groups of six, select, write the script of and present a skit that demonstrates decision making and conflict resolution. Follow the steps given below:

The Road Not Taken is biographical poem. Therefore, some personal biographical information is relevant to the deeper understanding of the poem we have read. Go to www.encarta.com and complete the following worksheet about Robert Frost.

(a) What “momentous decision” was made by Frost in 1912?

(b) How old was he when he had to make this decision?

(c)Why was it so difficult to make this decision? Think and give more than one reason.

(d) Was the “road” Frost had taken easy “to travel”?

(e) Do you think he wrote “The Road Not Taken” before sailing from the USA to England or after?

(f) Can you quote a line or two from the poem that can support your answer?

(g) Do you think Frost finally became popular in America as a poet?

Fill in the blanks to complete the following paragraph that deals with the theme of the poem. Use the words given in the box below:

The poem “The Road Not Taken“ by Robert Frost is about the ___________that onemakes in life. It tells about a man who comes to a ______________in the road he is travelling upon. He feels ____________that he cannot travel ________paths as he must choose one. Frost uses this fork in the road to represent a point in the man's life where he has to choose the ____________he wishes to take in life. As he thinks about his __________he looks down one path as far as he can see trying to ________________ what life will be like if he walks that path. He then gazes at the other _________and decides the outcome of going down that path would be just as ___________. At this point he concludes that the trail that has been less travelled on would be more _________ when he reaches the end of it. The man then decides that he will save the other path for another day, even though he knows that one path leads to another and that he won't get a _____________ to go back. The man then says that he will be telling this story with a “sigh“ someday in the future suggesting that he will ________what life would have been like if he had chosen the more walked path even though the path he chose has made all the difference.

Find the rhyme scheme of the poem.

The poet says “i took the one less travelled by,and that has made all the difference."what is 'the difference'that the poet mention?

Does the speaker seem happy about his decision?

Which road would you choose? Why?

Which road does the speaker choose?

Describe the two roads that the author finds.

The tone of the speaker in the first stanza is that of ______________.

(i) excitement

(ii) anger

(iii) hesitation and thoughtfulness

(iv) sorrow

The poet writes, 'Two roads diverged in a yellow wood.' The word diverged means

_______________.

(i) appeared

(ii) curved

(iii) branched off

(iv) continued on

In the poem, a traveler comes to a fork in the road and needs to decide which way to go to continue his journey. Figuratively the choice of the road denotes ______________________.

(i) the tough choices people make the road of life

(ii) the time wasted on deciding what to do

(iii) life is like a forest

(iv) one must travel a lot to realize his dreams

Did he regret his choice? Why/why not?

What choice did the poet have to make?

Have you made choices that are acceptable and less 'risky' or have you followed the beaten track? Why?

Complete the web chart showing choices and decisions you may have to make in the next few years and the factors that affect these choices.

Sometimes the choices we make have far-reaching consequences. Think about choices you make on a daily basis, and the importance of these choices.